Lucas learns to solder

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. And he has a new best-of writing collection and “lazy man’s memoir,” called Borg Like Me.

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. And he has a new best-of writing collection and “lazy man’s memoir,” called Borg Like Me.

Back in December, we posted a piece about Lucas, a six-year-old who’d learned how to solder and made a battery-powered guitar amp for his grandmother for Christmas. Six might be a little young for most kids to handle a soldering iron, but each person is obviously different (and you likely know what your kids can/cannot handle).

At one of the Maker Faires, a kid asked me if he could build the Solarbotics Herbie that’d he’d just bought in the Maker Shed, as I made up some Mousey the Junkbots. He was maybe 9. He’d never soldered, he was fidgety, and he kept nearly dropping the iron, nearly burning himself, soldering-desoldering-resoldering bad welds — I was on pins and needles the whole time. He finished the bot a lot faster than I’d finished my first Herbie. He put in a battery, turned it on, and it took off with a shot. It worked! I was stunned. He’d built his faster than I had and I’d had to resolder at least one connection and futz with my whiskers. So, never underestimate kids.

At the same time, be reasonable, use common sense, and BE SAFE. When we posted Lucas’ project the first time, readers were quick to correctly point out that it was a big no-no to have a 6-year-old (or maker of any age) soldering without safety glasses on. His dad admitted it was foolish — no excuses. And Lucas did get a nasty little iron burn, which he shows off in one of the pics in the Flickr set. Such burns do come with the territory, at any age.

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. And he has a new best-of writing collection and “lazy man’s memoir,” called Borg Like Me.

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. And he has a new best-of writing collection and “lazy man’s memoir,” called Borg Like Me.